As a recruitment agency, our job is to work with candidates every day and best prepare them for the interviews we match them with.
While we LOVE working with candidates one-on-one to prepare for their interviews, our real passion comes with helping the community and connecting with others on a larger scale.
So on March 7th, we took to our LinkedIn community to gather some of their best tips and advice for candidates to prepare for an interview.
And we received some excellent, detailed tips from the hiring managers themselves!
(And, of course, from some of the incredible recruiters in our network.)
A few we’ll point out are:
- Research the person you’ll be interviewing with. Find and connect with them on LinkedIn. Even send them a little connection note to make it personal and make yourself stand out to them before even meeting.
- Know what you want to get out of the role and how it will impact your future.
- Make sure that you fully understand how this role will complement your personal, professional, and financial drivers. If you’re unsure how to make that connection, look at the Protis Global Scorecard and learn how to use it.
- With 12 years in the recruitment industry, Travis Miller gives a simple yet insightful thought on changing your mindset. “Go in with the knowledge and confidence that you can make a difference for any company.”
- Partner and SVP Sales at Protis Global, Michael Bitar says, “Treat the interview like a business meeting. Everyone prepares for the topics of the business meeting. An interview is a business meeting the “topic” is you. So prepare by reviewing you. Do you really know your resume? Your Scorecard (personal, professional, financial goals)? Your point of difference? Your passion? Your value? Know you, and then be yourself. Do not overthink it.”
- Gary Miller, President of Miller Resource Group, always suggests that the candidates he works with ask, “What do top performers in the company do that set them apart?”
- 17-year Recruiter veteran of Protis Global, Mike Ganly says, “The most important part of the interview is getting to know the person you would work for.”
– How long have you worked with [company name] and what keeps you coming back every day?- How can I expect you and I to be able to support each other’s growth each day? How can I be the most impactful partner for the team?
- What kind of leader would you describe yourself as, and what types of people work best with you?
- What are your career goals, and how do you see yourself achieving them at [company]?
- Our very own Director of People and Development, Juan Saavedra, says the biggest mistake he tries to help candidates avoid is not knowing the role they’re interviewing for… “Read the Job description and use it to connect points from your current and previous experience to the role you are interviewing for. You’d be surprised how many people miss this simple yet pivotal point.”
- Andres Rodriguez, Managing Partner of ace Talent Curators, suggests to “emphasize the importance of authenticity, conventional wisdom has been to bring the “best version of ourselves” to an interview. It’s important to understand the fine line between our “best selves” and our “fake selves.”
These tips, of course, aren’t everything, but they’re a great place to start, supported by professional recruiters who work with candidates every day.
Need more guidance and coaching to nail your next interview? Get in touch with one of our Search Consultants here.